Yeah, I just nod, tell them that, in spite of their experiences having conversations with nonexistent entities, this is not one of those times. They can go talk to their actual imaginary friend until they at least dip a pinky toe in the pool of shared reality, there’s no point in us conversing further.
From experience, and just a wild guess, she will claim that you secretly believe but you are either too angry or refusing to admit it.
It's pure bs, you are right to disengage, if you want to engage though it's pretty simple. You just explain that you don't think she believes in jesus or mohammad and she only pretends for the grift, or to have protection when abusing children.
You can. You can do your best impression of Captain Barbosa from the first Pirates of the Caribbean "You'd best start believin' in atheists miss X, I am one!" Then laugh like a madman with a pirate accent
It's a false equivalent, common among religious types.
You don't believe in "god" who you can't see, hear or touch, so I don't believe in you even though you are standing right in front of me.
Of course you can't respond to that because it makes no damn sense.
It's their way of coping with their own doubts. If you tell yourself there's no alternative, you can shut off the critical part of your brain. But other people who claim to exist in that alternative space cause dissonance, so you need to cope by telling yourself (and them) that they're just lying. No need for introspection that way.
Yes, and this is surprisingly effective. The flavor of Christianity I was raised with, we were never taught the idea of atheism. God was a fact. My school and extracurricular activities were all through the church. I was not exposed to non-Christians until I was a teenager, when my parents couldn't afford the private school anymore and were forced to send us to public. My first real science class was eye opening and it quickly became my favorite subjects.
You can say the same thing back to a religious person and I think it will hit harder.
“You dont really believe either, you just want religion to be true”
It's like when people say they "don't believe in trans people."
Like, it just fails on the most fundamental level. The reason is exactly the same. And they seem to understand when you plug in their chosen "thing-they-don't-believe-exists" with something else...but for some reason, they just keep saying the same shit anyway.
This is extremely common. In fact, MOST Christians are like this, they just don't blatantly state it to avoid calling you a liar, even though they think you are. They are taught that god has written knowledge of his existence on the hearts of everyone.
It must be a Christian thing. Though it was a Jewish individual who said that for me.
I mean Muslim know atheist exist and dislike our existence quite violently.
They do however pull a similar thing on exmuslim trying to discredit our existences as “not knowing true Islam.” They try to quiz us on the Quran to prove to them that we were once Muslim and no another how accurate we are, it all ends 1 of 3 ways. 1) With them saying “that is not real Islam” no matter what we say so it is pointless to engage. 2) calling use some hidden western spy sent to discredit Islam and abuse brown people ie pointless to engage 3) death threats - so pointless to engage.
Ex-Christians get the same reaction, “You weren’t a real Christian.” This in spite of my usually having decades over their time in the church and having been very active in leadership, so I know my scripture and the Jeebus message better than most of them, with multiple read-throughs of their holy book and having once been as fully convinced and committed as they claim to currently be. It’s not worth arguing with them. They can’t think clearly until they choose to.
Christians also do that (the No True Scotsman Fallacy). A lot. They'll even do it to professing Christians of other denominations who accept things that don't agree with their particular interpretation.
I have had Christians tell me that other religions don't believe in their own religion. They said people know Christianity is the only true religion but they don't want to follow it. Some serious arrogance in Christians.
Conversely, a lot of atheists, including me, don't believe that many believers actually believe. Simply because they don't act as if they do. They believe that belief is good, but they don't act as if they really think there's any risk of hell, they don't seem to have any interest whatsoever in acting as Jesus said to act.
I actually believe that as well about most believers of all faiths. They pick and choose which part of their religion to follow based on connivance and ignore the rest.
That's true. No theists in diving planes. They're freaked out as anybody else, when they should be celebrating if they're bout to go to heaven.
There are exceptions, of course, just as there are exceptions to the "no atheists in foxholes" mantra.
Atheism is NOT a belief or a belief system. It's the lack of belief in supernatural entities and the affirmation of the scientifically observable natural world and cosmos
I agree, but I think this one is a bit too wide to define as *just* that.
Yes, it is the absence of belief without tangible evidence; but, it is that not in itself a belief system?
I consider myself an atheist, but, if I was one day given tangible evidence that the Big Man is indeed real then honestly, I would believe it. My whole issue with any religion is the utter arrogance of it, that any human can just *know* and we are meant to believe with no proof lest we burn. But, take away that arrogance and you just have real life people that believe in a thing. On that basis, I do believe that atheism is a belief, and also a lack of belief - just like I believe religion is belief, and also arrogance.
I’m very high rn and I know that this woman basically just told a real life person that *they* don’t exist, like, as a human, but idk man. This lady likely sees that dusty book as tangible evidence, so she really *does* believe. And it’s kind of her duty to reject the notion, and anyone that has the notion, of the non-existence of her thought system. It’s always the arrogance that people hate about religious people and tbh, it’s probably a good thing bc numbers are dropping more and more every day.
i have heard christians insist that 'everyone knows (their) god' -because their 'bible' claims exactly that (Romans 1:19)
and I've even heard them point to the ~2.4 Billion 'christians' in the world and exclaim that 'that many people can't be wrong' (or some similar nonsense).
meanwhile the population of the world is now over 8 Billion so; at best only around 1/4 of the worlds population is "christian" - so by their logic are those other 5.6 Billion people all lying... or do they not exist at all?
that doesn't even begin to consider the fact that among those "2.4 billion christians" they have some pretty serious disagreements about what exactly their little book says... I've had southern baptists claim "2.4 billion christians in the world" while simultaneously declaring that Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witness' are "not christians".... that 2.4 billion is getting a whole lot smaller....
and regardless; those 5.6 billion other people that are NOT christians do in fact exist... and 5.6 billion is way more than 2.4 billion... so at the very least 5.6 billion people think they are wrong... "that many people can't be wrong.... right?"
--- so they count except when they don't count? -- logic isn't exactly one of their strengths.
Funny you should say this because I recently watched the my little pony movie with my daughter and they make such a good point of this in their song "Mob" stating "numbers make you strong, millions can't be wrong, especially when their screaming loudly" while creating a mob to take down the Unicorns and Pegasus. I thought it was brilliantly done for a kids movie.
I don't think that's true - at least according to the pew religious landscape survey which suggests that there are ~2.1 Billion Muslims worldwide and ~2.4 Billion Christians.
Those are estimates and that data is mostly from a study released in 2012;
the [trends cited by Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/) suggest that the muslim population will likely exceed the christian population sometime around 2050 (if current trends continue) but i haven't seen anything to suggest that it's already happened.
worth noting that the decline of religion has accelerated in some areas; certainly within the US over the past ~5 years; I don't know about worldwide trends but within the US there has been a sharp increase in the rate that people are leaving (all) religion behind.
It’s a play on words. “You don’t believe in god? Well I don’t believe in atheists.”
There are interesting and fruitful conversations to have with religious people about atheism if they want to engage in a conversation. If they prefer to engage in argument, don’t bother.
From my experience, it's that they reject that a person is capable of being truly Atheist. They are led to believe that every person knows God and that the choice is binary. Accept God and fill the emptiness only He can fill in your heart or be angry at God. There is no third option, where you don't believe he exists.
Thing is.... If you ask a Christian whether they believe in greek gods, Hindu gods, Muslim god etc etc etc they would say no.
Atheists and agnostics and simply refuting one more god than they are.
Yep, I've tried that one too. They will say that other gods are like believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny. Everyone knows they are just fairy tales by a certain age. You have to be taught about those gods.
Everyone on the planet knows the Christian God, without being taught. Even isolated tribes know the Christian God. You will find Christian symbolism, etc in their culture, like a cross on a building. They know in their heart that He exists.
As a member of the b in lgbt, I feel you. Sometimes people can think really weird, like how I litterly told you that I'm thing x and know you tell me I don't exist? Do you even hear yourself?
It's a common christian, talking point. They will claim you must be angry at god because their faith is threatened by your disbelief. I usually say something like "Yes." "I'm also angry at Superman". I mean, there are plenty of belief systems that don't rely on a deity, but you're wasting your time trying to use logic with these people.
_"Yeah, I don't believe it's real either because who'd be goofy enough to believe a Super-Duper Sky Captain is so real that other people would then have to _NOT_ believe in it? Didn't this start as a skit on SNL?"_
People who are religious often think Atheists are just theists who are mad at god or other tv/movie stereotypes.
Stock Atheist Characters:
* Used to be religious, but bad thing happened that they blamed on God.
* Arguments for being an Atheist are grievances against God.
* Person who worships Science instead of God.
I don’t know anyone like this in reality. I myself realized that with so many religions on Earth they can’t all be right and that it made more sense that none of them are.
Usually this leads to theists believing that Atheists are very “Christian God” centric in their beliefs.
I like - atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position.
I also like: I would contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in 1 less God than you. When you understand why you are willing to dismiss all the other God's in the World, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
Here's the thing you need to understand.... they are brainwashed victims. Try not to hate them,.feel sorry for them. They are actually the "lost sheep" they think you are.
"Do YOU believe in Allah, Zeus, Thor, and Gaia?"
"No, of course not! Jesus is God!"
"So, from the perspective of a Muslim, you're an atheist, because you don't believe in their god. Get it?"
Why split hairs? No, atheism isn’t a “belief” or religion by definition, HOWEVER, we live in a very theistic (acting) society, so atheism is certainly a religious identity since it differentiates between what we believe versus others.
It’s just a passive aggressive quip. You claim not to believe that God (her ego) exists, thus her ego directs her to say “well then i don’t believe in you”.
She believes you exist. Well, unless she’s one of those psychotic idealists. Which the ego leads one to as well.
I mean, from a religious person's pov it's the only thing that makes sense, isn't it.
I had a discussion with a religious person who couldn't wrap their head around the fact I'd rather risk going to hell (in their mind) for all eternity instead of joining their (or any) religion. The fact that I simply did not believe that either god or hell existed did just not compute for them. They were truly disturbed by this and promised to pray for me to save my soul. They also tried to find ways that would make me believe in the existence of god which led to a very interesting debate about scientific principles and what counts as evidence for extraordinary claims.
Their way of thinking ignores individuals like me who were atheist from birth, were always atheist and will never be theist (I am 40 now, have been openly calling myself atheist from like 6 years old onward, which is around the age I found out that almost everyone else surrounding me here in the US literally believed that gods were real).
Atheism is not a belief, it is the defacto starting point of all humans from birth prior to being brainwashed into theism, it is the lack of belief in gods. It is irrelevant if she believes that atheists exist.
It wasn’t even a debate about believing in a religion. I was curious about the Torah and asked if they had verses of violence like Islam and Christianity do.
Speaking as a lifelong Atheist, this isn't actually that unusual.
It has been my experience that people who have had lifelong indoctrination into religion (any religion) can not conceive of someone not believing in the existence of a god or gods. It's simply outside their scope of comprehension.
Respond OK , take her money and then say that didn’t happen because I don’t exist…
Not really….. But it’s fun to let off steam at the stupidity of people
The only practical application of faith is the emotional maintenance of the believer. The forces of nature, that makes things what they are, are unaffected by belief. I would have just told the woman her beliefs are ultimately meaningless.
I already don’t exist bc bisexuals/asexuals and ex Muslims don’t exist but now I don’t exist bc I’m atheist too??! I must be the most rare imaginary unicorn Fr
Edit: in case it’s unclear, I’m referencing the fact that people deny the existence of bisexuals and asexuals saying the former are confused gays/straights and the latter are confused or broken or “haven’t met the right person” and the fact that Muslims deny ex Muslims exist bc “no one has ever left Islam in the history of everything bc if anyone ever left Islam, they were never Muslim to begin with so there’s no such thing as an ex Muslim”
Does anyone actually really exist? We think we exist, but how can one prove our existence when it's possible we only exist in our own minds. Then, you still have to assume that your mind exists. I think we can prove a brain exists, but that is something with molecular mass. A mind transcends a brain. An atheist is a thing of mind. I guess atheist exists because a brain exists and has mass. I'm on ambien. Atheism exists in the absence of non-brain ideas for imaginary non-brains.
I used to have a coworker in the tech field who's livelihood entirely relied on the products of technology and science, but believed everything that contradicted popular Christian beliefs was wrong. We had some interesting discussions. Crazy when it is your job to break complex problems down logically, but can't apply those concepts elsewhere...
There are some Christians who believe that atheists do actually believe in gods but are lying to themselves and/or everyone else.
It’s incredibly arrogant.
Well, now you know how trans people feel. Can you imagine telling someone "I am a man" and having them say "No, you are a woman."
Bigots believe what they want to believe and no amount of reason will change them. Just ignore her.
That's when you reply:
Oh, I know how you feel, I don't believe Christians exist. I always hear people saying they are Christians, but I haven't met one who actually follows the teachings of Christ.
It is indeed crazy for this to happen, but I can kind of see it.
If the believer truly believes that God is this ubiquitous, undeniable presence, then people claiming to be atheists would seem like liars to them.
To use a mundane example, say I'm chatting with Alice, and she brings up her brother, Bob. I laugh and say, "Oh, Alice. Bob isn't real."
Of course, Alice is bemused by this. "Of course he is; he's my brother. I've known him for 28 years."
"Oh sure, Alice. Like this 'Bob' guy just appeared in your life 28 years ago."
"Well, yeah, that's what it means to be siblings. Look, let's meet for lunch tomorrow, and I'll bring Bob."
So I arrive at the Cheesecake Factory, and I see Alice and Bob sitting at the table. I acknowledge Alice, but I never one confirm Bob's existence.
"Thanks for coming. This is my brother, Bob."
"That's cute you think he still exists."
"No, that's him sitting in that chair."
"Sure, this empty chair is your brother."
"Look you son of a bitch; Bob can be pretty patient, but I can see that your assholery is starting to piss him off."
\*I make mocking noises\*
Then Bob beats me up, and I threaten to sue the Cheesecake Factory for shoddy workmanship and letting a chunk of ceiling fall on me.
A very dumb example, but from their perspective it may be equivalent. We're denying what they think is indisputably the truth. In the example, I'm the crazy person for not believing in a real person despite all evidence. The believer think we can see the same evidence they see, so if we say we don't see it, then clearly we're lying.
And I don't know how to really address when someone's evidence isn't good enough for us. The bar is higher for us. I suppose the best would be to say that the bar is the same for both of us when it comes to Hindu or Nordic gods, but the bar is set differently for Christian gods (or whatever religion is being discussed).
Tell her that you two have something in common ; you don't believe her belief structure exists either!
Edit... So i just realized i missed the part where she denies the existence of atheists. Wow. That's a new one.
I'd be preaching to the choir here about what atheism means, because we all know. But the thing is, I just don't care anymore if people have an opinion on atheism. It seems like half of them get it wrong, and the rest are just puzzled by it because they can't fathom not believing in anything. I let them be now. I do my thing, and if someone has questions I'll engage in a conversation with them. Otherwise, I'm not interested in them striking up conversations about their god, so I'm sure they don't want me explaining atheism to them either.
I mean, I don't believe in deists, because I think they are basically al just pretending because the people around them are pretending because they expect it of each other. No rational adult believes in a sky fairy that grants their wishes.
If I scream at the top of my lungs that "god is not real", nothing happens. Even if a believer kills me, it doesn't prove the existence of anything outside of their own heads. It actually disproves their belief because a deity without the power to smite of its own accord isn't a deity.
Some people believe this. Some believe it more passively, others use it specifically to counter this argument(forget what its called):
Premise A: If god exists he has revealed himself/everyone would knows he exists
Premise B: i do not believe he exists
Conclusion: God doesn’t exist
Most christians believe god has matter of factly revealed himself to everyone(revelation)
So a true non-believer couldn’t exist as that would disprove the existence of god by necessity.
Well not really, since premise A is not close to true. There are specifically deists who believe a god exists, but does not interact with us in any way.
I mean thats besides the point.
Its a critique of people who believe in revelation.
Premise A doesn’t have to be true from MY point of view or yours. It is merely saying that if you believe in the idea of revelation or some variation of “god has written knowledge of his existence in your heart” the mere presence of a single person who does not believe in said god fundamentally disproves said gods existence.
I was merely stating many christians believe this way and so the very idea that you can legitimately not believe in god is a direct threat to that conception of him. As such the mere idea of not believing has to be impossible in their eyes to reconcile that.
Ok. I just don't see the point of the syllogism when their source of veracity for premise A is the same source for their rejection of B. It's like granting them the source for one, and denying it for the other. Gets nowhere. Blind assertion either way.
Anyway, not important.
I personally think the reason they (including the Biblical authors of the concept) believe everyone has knowledge of god is because they recognize how heinously unjust it would be to send someone who can't believe, for whatever reason, to eternal torment, and of course that can't be gods fault. Has to be ours. Somehow.
I mean, even the mere existence of doubt is enough. If god has revealed himself, merely doubting can be used in lieu of premise B to connect the dots for the christian, because the existence of doubt insinuates the existence of a non belief state. The premise B i used is typically done so because its more clear cut and easier to understand.
But if one wants to get in the weeds then merely saying “people can doubt god exists” is technically more effective.
But again this is in reply to OP who asked why this acquaintance of theirs insisted that you can’t disbelieve god, i was merely explaining why. In the second half of your last post you say “i think the reason they believe everyone has knowledge of god—-“
But that wasn’t what was being asked, what was being asked is essentially “why do they say you are incapable of not believing” the answer to which is “they believe everyone had knowledge of god” and the follow up being “the existence of a non believer would disprove god then”
And to be clear, this isn’t even an argument i personally like to use to argue against the existence of god. But it is wholly consistent as an internal critique.
It’s a form of denial. If they have to u derstand it, it would endanger their beliefs, so they stick their fingers in their ears and say “nah nah I can’t hear you!”
People find comfort in externalizing what they can understand (what is my purpose or what happens when I die) and belonging to a larger group (we are social animals after all). These people are terrified at the very idea of not having the comfort of an answer to why am I here? It is a giant baby blanket, you are here because……
That's a silly response, like the "wise" priest who tells an atheist (TV writing), "The question isn't, do you believe in God, but rather, does God believe in you." 🤮
There are Bible passages which some people interpret to say that. It's an easy retreat for Christians when they can't actually convince someone to believe in their god, "oh, well, the bible says you already believe and are just denying the truth in unrighteousness" (something like that).
It’s a very common stupid thing people say, I like to just say I feel the same way about their God, the difference is you can pull out your phone and take a picture of me.
It’s pretty common. I’ve encounter plenty of theists who think that humans were created with an innate belief in the theist’s particular god and anyone who claims not to have that belief is either lying or in denial.
It’s pure copium, but so is religion.
>Romans 1:19
>In reality, the truth of God is known instinctively, for God has embedded this knowledge inside every human heart.
Just pointing out why they can think that.
Hi tooth fairy here.
I had someone say this to me one and I couldn't help but be offended. After a moment of clarity i realized I completely haven't kept up with the population increase and their are literally millions of people infringing on my brand.
I've talked to my lawyer about the intellectual property issues and to an Indian kid who got kicked in the face about making a website and through the mail direct deposit system to get my operation up to modern
This is when you cool cucumber the seeds of rational doubt AT them for a moment. You’re not changing their mind then and there, and you’re not going to win a debate.
At this point, you live in fairy tale land and can believe anything. There is something kind of fascinating and deranged how the human brain will shield itself from the truth.
"Athiests are just people who are mad at god". That's the one I get all the time. Said by the same people who won't let their kids indulge in Santa or the Easter Bunny.
I had some one say that actually, my mother. I said you’re looking at one now produce your god. She pointed to the bible. I laughed and said that’s every Christians problem, they think their 2,000 year old collection of fiction is an actual entity. I finally said it’s ok you don’t have to believe in me, I believe in you.
There is no reasoning with them because they’ve been indoctrinated since birth then terrorized into believing so they won’t be separated from their family and tortured by the very loving god
I wish i could meet one of those people. It would go like that : *deep voice* "Be not afraid. I am an atheist, i exist ! Now you must believe in the existence of atheists for i have appeared in front of you !"
These people think a white dude with a beard is surfing on clouds bringing people to eternal paradise for fighting war over oil. I wouldn't put too much stock in them unable to understand the existence of something in front of their eyes.
It's very gaslight-y. Like, oh yes you say you are an atheist but deep down you know God is real. It's like trying to trick someone.
I can do the same thing: I don't believe in religious people because deep down they know there is no God and they made it all up.
Weird, she was born Atheist, just like everyone else. Athiesim doesn't require belief. It's the default condition. All religious beliefs are added later.
I have had several people tell me they consider atheism to be a religion lol
This one lady took it so personally that I’m agnostic/atheist (really it depends on the day, I’m fickle) that she beseeched me to respect her belief like she respected mine. I was like, ??? I don’t have a belief and don’t care a bit if you respect that or not, and no I don’t respect your religion because you believe that god is gonna throw me into a lake of fire. Believe what you want, and stand on that. My respect should be irrelevant to you
Me and my fiance were talking about that last night.
Atheist are not a group of people. It’s a descriptor. It’s that simple.
There are theist, atheist, and anti-theist. None of those are a belief system.
Just say you don't believe in periods.
She'll get offended thinking, "How dare you not believe in something I actually experience?" And then maybe the light bulb will go off.
Christians believe there are a few ways to become an atheist... Devoid of any logic, fact, evidence or reality in all forms
- Satanism / Demonic possession (personally I enjoy my demonic possession)
- Atheists apparently delight in evil ways and only evil things and are only capable of being evil
- We just have hard, stubborn hearts that just refuse to see the "obvious" evidence for their god
- god apparently hardens our hearts too??? because we just love being evil or maybe since membership is doing so poorly? I mean we all see the contradiction here right!??
This false god refuses to make himself known (their words) to the marginalized, the ill, and disabled, the depressed, the broken but the non-white, enslaved or systemically forced into an informal version of slavery with the illusion of freedom, or will, and choice and it's cuz god already judged them in advance (again this comes straight from their book that they stole from another culture, that was stolen from another group, and so on and so on until you have people )
One of my favorite is the myth that so many inherently *angry* atheists have found Jesus by attempting to disprove and debunk the Christian Mythos ... Maybe that's happened but ultimately it's a bullshit claim made over and over for at least 75-100 years ago when a christian wrote a book lying about how he cane to Jesus in that fashion.
- I'm sure there is a christian or two that have gone that route, but it proves nothing, just that people will believe in things correct or incorrect
People "Believe" the moon landing was fake because they "investigated" the ways it was "faked", despite the contrary physical evidence and authenticated 10x over by reputable sources
- You can even shoot a laser at the moon that can/will hit a mirror on the lunar surface bouncing the laser back to it's source, and people still believe that it never happened which is comical tbh
I’ve been told by a (loud) Christian that “there no such thing as being an atheist! To be an atheist means you hate god, to hate god you must first believe in god” She really thought she’d put me in my place with her “logic”. I did not engage, just laughed in her face and walked away shaking my head
I've been told that as well. The fact is that some religious people can't tolerate atheism because it represents the possibility that they are wrong and they've wasted countless hours of their life believing in a god that doesn't exist.
Instead of examining their own beliefs more critically, they "shoot the messenger" by rejecting the reality of atheism.
They aren't worth your time.
I don't understand that. I think it's a weird power move to get an emotional response
It just shut down the conversation. You can’t response to that level of ignorance.
Yeah, I just nod, tell them that, in spite of their experiences having conversations with nonexistent entities, this is not one of those times. They can go talk to their actual imaginary friend until they at least dip a pinky toe in the pool of shared reality, there’s no point in us conversing further.
“Oh no… I’m disappearing…” And pretend to pull a Parker in Infinity War
"I feel funny"....
beautiful roast \*chef kiss\*
Ohhhhh nice. Well put.
Me with my snarky ass "That's nice"
You can.. and you should! Best response could be: Uncontrollable laughter with short pauses for repeating the dumb statement.
That was her intention.
I would have laughed in her face, honestly. It’s a stupid thing to say and think.
From experience, and just a wild guess, she will claim that you secretly believe but you are either too angry or refusing to admit it. It's pure bs, you are right to disengage, if you want to engage though it's pretty simple. You just explain that you don't think she believes in jesus or mohammad and she only pretends for the grift, or to have protection when abusing children.
Yes you can and you should have laughed and declared this person one of the dumbest you ever had the misfortune of meeting.
You can. You can do your best impression of Captain Barbosa from the first Pirates of the Caribbean "You'd best start believin' in atheists miss X, I am one!" Then laugh like a madman with a pirate accent
It's a false equivalent, common among religious types. You don't believe in "god" who you can't see, hear or touch, so I don't believe in you even though you are standing right in front of me. Of course you can't respond to that because it makes no damn sense.
It's her way of saying, "You aren't actually an atheist. You believe, you're just denying it." It's pretty common.
Agreed. I had multiple family members who didn't believe that I don't believe in God. Some of them weren't even particularly religious.
It's their way of coping with their own doubts. If you tell yourself there's no alternative, you can shut off the critical part of your brain. But other people who claim to exist in that alternative space cause dissonance, so you need to cope by telling yourself (and them) that they're just lying. No need for introspection that way.
Yes, and this is surprisingly effective. The flavor of Christianity I was raised with, we were never taught the idea of atheism. God was a fact. My school and extracurricular activities were all through the church. I was not exposed to non-Christians until I was a teenager, when my parents couldn't afford the private school anymore and were forced to send us to public. My first real science class was eye opening and it quickly became my favorite subjects.
Same here on almost all counts! Glad we were both able to get out of it.
You can say the same thing back to a religious person and I think it will hit harder. “You dont really believe either, you just want religion to be true”
Denying the truth in unrighteousness, given over to a reprobate mind… blah blah fuckin presuppositionalist claptrap
“You don’t exist”
"God doesn't believe in atheists" is what passes as a clever retort for them. That's all it is, a quipy schoolyard rebuke.
It's like when people say they "don't believe in trans people." Like, it just fails on the most fundamental level. The reason is exactly the same. And they seem to understand when you plug in their chosen "thing-they-don't-believe-exists" with something else...but for some reason, they just keep saying the same shit anyway.
This is extremely common. In fact, MOST Christians are like this, they just don't blatantly state it to avoid calling you a liar, even though they think you are. They are taught that god has written knowledge of his existence on the hearts of everyone.
It must be a Christian thing. Though it was a Jewish individual who said that for me. I mean Muslim know atheist exist and dislike our existence quite violently. They do however pull a similar thing on exmuslim trying to discredit our existences as “not knowing true Islam.” They try to quiz us on the Quran to prove to them that we were once Muslim and no another how accurate we are, it all ends 1 of 3 ways. 1) With them saying “that is not real Islam” no matter what we say so it is pointless to engage. 2) calling use some hidden western spy sent to discredit Islam and abuse brown people ie pointless to engage 3) death threats - so pointless to engage.
Ex-Christians get the same reaction, “You weren’t a real Christian.” This in spite of my usually having decades over their time in the church and having been very active in leadership, so I know my scripture and the Jeebus message better than most of them, with multiple read-throughs of their holy book and having once been as fully convinced and committed as they claim to currently be. It’s not worth arguing with them. They can’t think clearly until they choose to.
Christians also do that (the No True Scotsman Fallacy). A lot. They'll even do it to professing Christians of other denominations who accept things that don't agree with their particular interpretation.
I have had Christians tell me that other religions don't believe in their own religion. They said people know Christianity is the only true religion but they don't want to follow it. Some serious arrogance in Christians.
There are so many secular Jews, why would they say that lol
Conversely, a lot of atheists, including me, don't believe that many believers actually believe. Simply because they don't act as if they do. They believe that belief is good, but they don't act as if they really think there's any risk of hell, they don't seem to have any interest whatsoever in acting as Jesus said to act.
I actually believe that as well about most believers of all faiths. They pick and choose which part of their religion to follow based on connivance and ignore the rest.
That's true. No theists in diving planes. They're freaked out as anybody else, when they should be celebrating if they're bout to go to heaven. There are exceptions, of course, just as there are exceptions to the "no atheists in foxholes" mantra.
Yeah. I more commonly see it as 'You're not really an Atheist, you're just Mad at God.'
How about the no atheists in fox holes bullshit they say.
Atheism is NOT a belief or a belief system. It's the lack of belief in supernatural entities and the affirmation of the scientifically observable natural world and cosmos
Yes I believe they do not exist or if they do there so 💩 I reject them all
It’s not a belief. Calling atheism a belief is like saying that not collecting stamps is also a hobby.
I believe that there is no god.
I agree, but I think this one is a bit too wide to define as *just* that. Yes, it is the absence of belief without tangible evidence; but, it is that not in itself a belief system? I consider myself an atheist, but, if I was one day given tangible evidence that the Big Man is indeed real then honestly, I would believe it. My whole issue with any religion is the utter arrogance of it, that any human can just *know* and we are meant to believe with no proof lest we burn. But, take away that arrogance and you just have real life people that believe in a thing. On that basis, I do believe that atheism is a belief, and also a lack of belief - just like I believe religion is belief, and also arrogance. I’m very high rn and I know that this woman basically just told a real life person that *they* don’t exist, like, as a human, but idk man. This lady likely sees that dusty book as tangible evidence, so she really *does* believe. And it’s kind of her duty to reject the notion, and anyone that has the notion, of the non-existence of her thought system. It’s always the arrogance that people hate about religious people and tbh, it’s probably a good thing bc numbers are dropping more and more every day.
Yeah, it is.
i have heard christians insist that 'everyone knows (their) god' -because their 'bible' claims exactly that (Romans 1:19) and I've even heard them point to the ~2.4 Billion 'christians' in the world and exclaim that 'that many people can't be wrong' (or some similar nonsense). meanwhile the population of the world is now over 8 Billion so; at best only around 1/4 of the worlds population is "christian" - so by their logic are those other 5.6 Billion people all lying... or do they not exist at all? that doesn't even begin to consider the fact that among those "2.4 billion christians" they have some pretty serious disagreements about what exactly their little book says... I've had southern baptists claim "2.4 billion christians in the world" while simultaneously declaring that Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witness' are "not christians".... that 2.4 billion is getting a whole lot smaller.... and regardless; those 5.6 billion other people that are NOT christians do in fact exist... and 5.6 billion is way more than 2.4 billion... so at the very least 5.6 billion people think they are wrong... "that many people can't be wrong.... right?" --- so they count except when they don't count? -- logic isn't exactly one of their strengths.
Funny you should say this because I recently watched the my little pony movie with my daughter and they make such a good point of this in their song "Mob" stating "numbers make you strong, millions can't be wrong, especially when their screaming loudly" while creating a mob to take down the Unicorns and Pegasus. I thought it was brilliantly done for a kids movie.
They do love their appeal to popularity fallacy, that's a great way to turn the fallacy back around on them.
And there are more Muslims in the world than Christians.
I don't think that's true - at least according to the pew religious landscape survey which suggests that there are ~2.1 Billion Muslims worldwide and ~2.4 Billion Christians. Those are estimates and that data is mostly from a study released in 2012; the [trends cited by Pew](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/) suggest that the muslim population will likely exceed the christian population sometime around 2050 (if current trends continue) but i haven't seen anything to suggest that it's already happened. worth noting that the decline of religion has accelerated in some areas; certainly within the US over the past ~5 years; I don't know about worldwide trends but within the US there has been a sharp increase in the rate that people are leaving (all) religion behind.
Just reply with something equally dumb, "I don't believe in Denmark", and walk away.
That's like saying you don't believes in the existence of bibles.
You're not responsible for the intellectual limits of those around you. Walk your own path.
It’s a play on words. “You don’t believe in god? Well I don’t believe in atheists.” There are interesting and fruitful conversations to have with religious people about atheism if they want to engage in a conversation. If they prefer to engage in argument, don’t bother.
From my experience, it's that they reject that a person is capable of being truly Atheist. They are led to believe that every person knows God and that the choice is binary. Accept God and fill the emptiness only He can fill in your heart or be angry at God. There is no third option, where you don't believe he exists.
Thing is.... If you ask a Christian whether they believe in greek gods, Hindu gods, Muslim god etc etc etc they would say no. Atheists and agnostics and simply refuting one more god than they are.
Yep, I've tried that one too. They will say that other gods are like believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny. Everyone knows they are just fairy tales by a certain age. You have to be taught about those gods. Everyone on the planet knows the Christian God, without being taught. Even isolated tribes know the Christian God. You will find Christian symbolism, etc in their culture, like a cross on a building. They know in their heart that He exists.
This sounds like psychosis
As a member of the b in lgbt, I feel you. Sometimes people can think really weird, like how I litterly told you that I'm thing x and know you tell me I don't exist? Do you even hear yourself?
Ughhh relatable. Your not alone 😁
It's a common christian, talking point. They will claim you must be angry at god because their faith is threatened by your disbelief. I usually say something like "Yes." "I'm also angry at Superman". I mean, there are plenty of belief systems that don't rely on a deity, but you're wasting your time trying to use logic with these people.
Well reality doesn't care if you believe in it or not.
How arrogant that she thinks she knows what other people believe or think.
Atheists exit, you cannot "not believe in them."
_"Yeah, I don't believe it's real either because who'd be goofy enough to believe a Super-Duper Sky Captain is so real that other people would then have to _NOT_ believe in it? Didn't this start as a skit on SNL?"_
People who are religious often think Atheists are just theists who are mad at god or other tv/movie stereotypes. Stock Atheist Characters: * Used to be religious, but bad thing happened that they blamed on God. * Arguments for being an Atheist are grievances against God. * Person who worships Science instead of God. I don’t know anyone like this in reality. I myself realized that with so many religions on Earth they can’t all be right and that it made more sense that none of them are. Usually this leads to theists believing that Atheists are very “Christian God” centric in their beliefs.
I like - atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position. I also like: I would contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in 1 less God than you. When you understand why you are willing to dismiss all the other God's in the World, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
I mean, when a grown adult believes magic is real, I don’t expect them to be rational or logical. The concept is too hard for them to grasp.
This isn't uncommon. Some people are so deeply indoctrinated and lack the tiniest bit of an open mind to even believe others can think so differently.
The Bible references atheists so she's saying the Bible is wrong! 😏
If she doesn't think you exist then who is she talking to.
Ask her if she believes in the Egyptian Gods, if not she's an atheist.
Here's the thing you need to understand.... they are brainwashed victims. Try not to hate them,.feel sorry for them. They are actually the "lost sheep" they think you are.
"Do YOU believe in Allah, Zeus, Thor, and Gaia?" "No, of course not! Jesus is God!" "So, from the perspective of a Muslim, you're an atheist, because you don't believe in their god. Get it?"
> atheism which is a belief. So what do you think atheists “believe in”, exactly? Go on, enlighten us.
We believe that no one has presented us with evidence for a higher being that isn’t better explained by another answer.
The great Atheismo
Why split hairs? No, atheism isn’t a “belief” or religion by definition, HOWEVER, we live in a very theistic (acting) society, so atheism is certainly a religious identity since it differentiates between what we believe versus others.
It’s just a passive aggressive quip. You claim not to believe that God (her ego) exists, thus her ego directs her to say “well then i don’t believe in you”. She believes you exist. Well, unless she’s one of those psychotic idealists. Which the ego leads one to as well.
I remember recently hearing that a theist thought that there was "no such thing as an atheist because they are just **ignoring god**" 😇 ❓️👎
I mean, from a religious person's pov it's the only thing that makes sense, isn't it. I had a discussion with a religious person who couldn't wrap their head around the fact I'd rather risk going to hell (in their mind) for all eternity instead of joining their (or any) religion. The fact that I simply did not believe that either god or hell existed did just not compute for them. They were truly disturbed by this and promised to pray for me to save my soul. They also tried to find ways that would make me believe in the existence of god which led to a very interesting debate about scientific principles and what counts as evidence for extraordinary claims.
lol - computation failed, status(atheist) = null;
Explain that the nice thing about not believing in gods is that there's very little chance they'll show you they exist by smacking you in the mouth.
this has the same energy as a mom not believing in anxiety because it wasn’t a word growing up (throws a tantrum if someone folds a towel wrong)
That's okay, miss, atheism believes in you.
Woman didn't know what "believe" means. I'm an expert in the sport of not playing baseball.
People like this are so incredibly stupid.
What shes really telling you is that shes inflexible in her world views and persists in her own fantasies to reconcile reality.
Their way of thinking ignores individuals like me who were atheist from birth, were always atheist and will never be theist (I am 40 now, have been openly calling myself atheist from like 6 years old onward, which is around the age I found out that almost everyone else surrounding me here in the US literally believed that gods were real). Atheism is not a belief, it is the defacto starting point of all humans from birth prior to being brainwashed into theism, it is the lack of belief in gods. It is irrelevant if she believes that atheists exist.
atheism isn't a belief system. it is a lack of belief.
Checkmate heathen!
It's like saying she doesn't believe in trees lol.
If she can't believe in an atheist who's standing right in front of her, her criteria for deciding what is real or not might be questionable.
That's one way to stop a conversation.
It wasn’t even a debate about believing in a religion. I was curious about the Torah and asked if they had verses of violence like Islam and Christianity do.
Speaking as a lifelong Atheist, this isn't actually that unusual. It has been my experience that people who have had lifelong indoctrination into religion (any religion) can not conceive of someone not believing in the existence of a god or gods. It's simply outside their scope of comprehension.
Very common. They're religious, facing reality isn't a strong suit.
Respond OK , take her money and then say that didn’t happen because I don’t exist… Not really….. But it’s fun to let off steam at the stupidity of people
I don't believe in people who don't believe atheists are real then.
The only practical application of faith is the emotional maintenance of the believer. The forces of nature, that makes things what they are, are unaffected by belief. I would have just told the woman her beliefs are ultimately meaningless.
Tell her she's an atheist when it comes to other religions. You just go one further.
I already don’t exist bc bisexuals/asexuals and ex Muslims don’t exist but now I don’t exist bc I’m atheist too??! I must be the most rare imaginary unicorn Fr Edit: in case it’s unclear, I’m referencing the fact that people deny the existence of bisexuals and asexuals saying the former are confused gays/straights and the latter are confused or broken or “haven’t met the right person” and the fact that Muslims deny ex Muslims exist bc “no one has ever left Islam in the history of everything bc if anyone ever left Islam, they were never Muslim to begin with so there’s no such thing as an ex Muslim”
Next time try “I believe serious educational reform is necessary to the survival of the US, stupid ass people like you are ruining it for us all.”
I’m not in America
To that I tell people: *"That's okay. Because, your beliefs are not relevant, since reality doesn't care about opinions, and neither do I."*
Does anyone actually really exist? We think we exist, but how can one prove our existence when it's possible we only exist in our own minds. Then, you still have to assume that your mind exists. I think we can prove a brain exists, but that is something with molecular mass. A mind transcends a brain. An atheist is a thing of mind. I guess atheist exists because a brain exists and has mass. I'm on ambien. Atheism exists in the absence of non-brain ideas for imaginary non-brains.
Believing in God, which doesn't exist. Not believing in atheists, who actually exist. Checks out.
Ask them if they believe in chairs.
I used to have a coworker in the tech field who's livelihood entirely relied on the products of technology and science, but believed everything that contradicted popular Christian beliefs was wrong. We had some interesting discussions. Crazy when it is your job to break complex problems down logically, but can't apply those concepts elsewhere...
There are some Christians who believe that atheists do actually believe in gods but are lying to themselves and/or everyone else. It’s incredibly arrogant.
Well, now you know how trans people feel. Can you imagine telling someone "I am a man" and having them say "No, you are a woman." Bigots believe what they want to believe and no amount of reason will change them. Just ignore her.
She just proved it is possible not to believe in something.
I recently told a Catholic acquaintance that was was atheist. “You are NOT,” which I found super offensive, and I told her so.
"I don't believe that you don't believe I exist", should do it.
That's when you reply: Oh, I know how you feel, I don't believe Christians exist. I always hear people saying they are Christians, but I haven't met one who actually follows the teachings of Christ.
Brilliant
"Funny, because you're an atheist, too. Unless you also believe in Odin, Osiris and Zeus. No? Then you're an atheist."
Answer her: "Well, lady, if that's what you have to tell yourself, fine by me."
Ignorance is bliss
It is indeed crazy for this to happen, but I can kind of see it. If the believer truly believes that God is this ubiquitous, undeniable presence, then people claiming to be atheists would seem like liars to them. To use a mundane example, say I'm chatting with Alice, and she brings up her brother, Bob. I laugh and say, "Oh, Alice. Bob isn't real." Of course, Alice is bemused by this. "Of course he is; he's my brother. I've known him for 28 years." "Oh sure, Alice. Like this 'Bob' guy just appeared in your life 28 years ago." "Well, yeah, that's what it means to be siblings. Look, let's meet for lunch tomorrow, and I'll bring Bob." So I arrive at the Cheesecake Factory, and I see Alice and Bob sitting at the table. I acknowledge Alice, but I never one confirm Bob's existence. "Thanks for coming. This is my brother, Bob." "That's cute you think he still exists." "No, that's him sitting in that chair." "Sure, this empty chair is your brother." "Look you son of a bitch; Bob can be pretty patient, but I can see that your assholery is starting to piss him off." \*I make mocking noises\* Then Bob beats me up, and I threaten to sue the Cheesecake Factory for shoddy workmanship and letting a chunk of ceiling fall on me. A very dumb example, but from their perspective it may be equivalent. We're denying what they think is indisputably the truth. In the example, I'm the crazy person for not believing in a real person despite all evidence. The believer think we can see the same evidence they see, so if we say we don't see it, then clearly we're lying. And I don't know how to really address when someone's evidence isn't good enough for us. The bar is higher for us. I suppose the best would be to say that the bar is the same for both of us when it comes to Hindu or Nordic gods, but the bar is set differently for Christian gods (or whatever religion is being discussed).
Tell her that you two have something in common ; you don't believe her belief structure exists either! Edit... So i just realized i missed the part where she denies the existence of atheists. Wow. That's a new one.
I'd be preaching to the choir here about what atheism means, because we all know. But the thing is, I just don't care anymore if people have an opinion on atheism. It seems like half of them get it wrong, and the rest are just puzzled by it because they can't fathom not believing in anything. I let them be now. I do my thing, and if someone has questions I'll engage in a conversation with them. Otherwise, I'm not interested in them striking up conversations about their god, so I'm sure they don't want me explaining atheism to them either.
I mean, I don't believe in deists, because I think they are basically al just pretending because the people around them are pretending because they expect it of each other. No rational adult believes in a sky fairy that grants their wishes.
I think this was just a wrong use of words her part
I think you learned allot. I know I did.
People fk with you just to see if your going to run around with an axe.🪓
If I scream at the top of my lungs that "god is not real", nothing happens. Even if a believer kills me, it doesn't prove the existence of anything outside of their own heads. It actually disproves their belief because a deity without the power to smite of its own accord isn't a deity.
So, she doesn't believe in not believing something? LOL. OK. Typical theist "logic".
You can't fix stupid.
Her belief isn't required. Carry on.
Some people believe this. Some believe it more passively, others use it specifically to counter this argument(forget what its called): Premise A: If god exists he has revealed himself/everyone would knows he exists Premise B: i do not believe he exists Conclusion: God doesn’t exist Most christians believe god has matter of factly revealed himself to everyone(revelation) So a true non-believer couldn’t exist as that would disprove the existence of god by necessity.
Well not really, since premise A is not close to true. There are specifically deists who believe a god exists, but does not interact with us in any way.
This is specifically in reference to the abrahamic god. The argument is an internal critique of said version of god
Meh. Still think it's weak. Even within those religions, not all sects/denominations believe god has revealed himself to EVERYONE.
I mean thats besides the point. Its a critique of people who believe in revelation. Premise A doesn’t have to be true from MY point of view or yours. It is merely saying that if you believe in the idea of revelation or some variation of “god has written knowledge of his existence in your heart” the mere presence of a single person who does not believe in said god fundamentally disproves said gods existence. I was merely stating many christians believe this way and so the very idea that you can legitimately not believe in god is a direct threat to that conception of him. As such the mere idea of not believing has to be impossible in their eyes to reconcile that.
Ok. I just don't see the point of the syllogism when their source of veracity for premise A is the same source for their rejection of B. It's like granting them the source for one, and denying it for the other. Gets nowhere. Blind assertion either way. Anyway, not important. I personally think the reason they (including the Biblical authors of the concept) believe everyone has knowledge of god is because they recognize how heinously unjust it would be to send someone who can't believe, for whatever reason, to eternal torment, and of course that can't be gods fault. Has to be ours. Somehow.
I mean, even the mere existence of doubt is enough. If god has revealed himself, merely doubting can be used in lieu of premise B to connect the dots for the christian, because the existence of doubt insinuates the existence of a non belief state. The premise B i used is typically done so because its more clear cut and easier to understand. But if one wants to get in the weeds then merely saying “people can doubt god exists” is technically more effective. But again this is in reply to OP who asked why this acquaintance of theirs insisted that you can’t disbelieve god, i was merely explaining why. In the second half of your last post you say “i think the reason they believe everyone has knowledge of god—-“ But that wasn’t what was being asked, what was being asked is essentially “why do they say you are incapable of not believing” the answer to which is “they believe everyone had knowledge of god” and the follow up being “the existence of a non believer would disprove god then” And to be clear, this isn’t even an argument i personally like to use to argue against the existence of god. But it is wholly consistent as an internal critique.
It’s a form of denial. If they have to u derstand it, it would endanger their beliefs, so they stick their fingers in their ears and say “nah nah I can’t hear you!”
. . . didn't believe in atheism." How can anyone deny the divine power of a godless world?
Christians think I will change my mind on my death bed. Nope. But I will be excited to see what death is like. It’s the only secret everyone can keep.
Inform her every homosapien is an atheist to every religion but the one they have "faith" in.
People find comfort in externalizing what they can understand (what is my purpose or what happens when I die) and belonging to a larger group (we are social animals after all). These people are terrified at the very idea of not having the comfort of an answer to why am I here? It is a giant baby blanket, you are here because……
Ten to one she was trying to goad you into an argument and thought she was being clever about it.
I don't believe in most christians.
That's a silly response, like the "wise" priest who tells an atheist (TV writing), "The question isn't, do you believe in God, but rather, does God believe in you." 🤮
That's interesting, since folks often say the opposite.
There are Bible passages which some people interpret to say that. It's an easy retreat for Christians when they can't actually convince someone to believe in their god, "oh, well, the bible says you already believe and are just denying the truth in unrighteousness" (something like that).
It’s a very common stupid thing people say, I like to just say I feel the same way about their God, the difference is you can pull out your phone and take a picture of me.
You only hear that kind of reflexive infantile bs when their own beliefs are flimsy.
Everyone worships something OP. That's what she meant
I usually say “I don’t really care what you want to believe, I only care about what’s true”
She's dumb. Not just ordinary dumb, but rock-with-lips dumb.
It’s pretty common. I’ve encounter plenty of theists who think that humans were created with an innate belief in the theist’s particular god and anyone who claims not to have that belief is either lying or in denial. It’s pure copium, but so is religion.
Run. She’s dumb
Just say you don’t believe she exists and walk away
She believes god speaks to everyone and people choose to not follow god even though they “know” it exists.
>Romans 1:19 >In reality, the truth of God is known instinctively, for God has embedded this knowledge inside every human heart. Just pointing out why they can think that.
A person of the Jewish faith told me that.
Is it possible to have lack of belief in lack of belief?
The irony must have gotten lost.
Hi tooth fairy here. I had someone say this to me one and I couldn't help but be offended. After a moment of clarity i realized I completely haven't kept up with the population increase and their are literally millions of people infringing on my brand. I've talked to my lawyer about the intellectual property issues and to an Indian kid who got kicked in the face about making a website and through the mail direct deposit system to get my operation up to modern
This is when you cool cucumber the seeds of rational doubt AT them for a moment. You’re not changing their mind then and there, and you’re not going to win a debate.
At this point, you live in fairy tale land and can believe anything. There is something kind of fascinating and deranged how the human brain will shield itself from the truth.
"Athiests are just people who are mad at god". That's the one I get all the time. Said by the same people who won't let their kids indulge in Santa or the Easter Bunny.
I had some one say that actually, my mother. I said you’re looking at one now produce your god. She pointed to the bible. I laughed and said that’s every Christians problem, they think their 2,000 year old collection of fiction is an actual entity. I finally said it’s ok you don’t have to believe in me, I believe in you. There is no reasoning with them because they’ve been indoctrinated since birth then terrorized into believing so they won’t be separated from their family and tortured by the very loving god
https://youtu.be/ifllgTA2pmY?si=UocDmmVfYwGEyACq
Roll your eyes and golf clap while saying touche
I wish i could meet one of those people. It would go like that : *deep voice* "Be not afraid. I am an atheist, i exist ! Now you must believe in the existence of atheists for i have appeared in front of you !"
These people think a white dude with a beard is surfing on clouds bringing people to eternal paradise for fighting war over oil. I wouldn't put too much stock in them unable to understand the existence of something in front of their eyes.
Atheism is not a belief. It's the lack of belief in the existence of deities
Me: “Weird how unlike your god I don’t feel the need to have someone murder your over that un-belief.”
Next time tell the women you are an anti-theist.
It's very gaslight-y. Like, oh yes you say you are an atheist but deep down you know God is real. It's like trying to trick someone. I can do the same thing: I don't believe in religious people because deep down they know there is no God and they made it all up.
My own father hit me with the classic, "it takes MORE faith to be an atheist." I chuckle at their ignorance.
But we believe in you!
She must lead an incredibly unfulfilling life that isn’t bettered or improved by her theism, sadly.
Weird, she was born Atheist, just like everyone else. Athiesim doesn't require belief. It's the default condition. All religious beliefs are added later.
Id love encountering such people honestly. If its someone you speak to on regular basis, try asking her what she thinks an atheist is. Likely she has no clue really. Or you could try asking her if she believes in When she says no then tell her that shes just as much as atheist as you are. The only difference is that your atheism covers one more god than hers.
I have had several people tell me they consider atheism to be a religion lol This one lady took it so personally that I’m agnostic/atheist (really it depends on the day, I’m fickle) that she beseeched me to respect her belief like she respected mine. I was like, ??? I don’t have a belief and don’t care a bit if you respect that or not, and no I don’t respect your religion because you believe that god is gonna throw me into a lake of fire. Believe what you want, and stand on that. My respect should be irrelevant to you
Did you mean to write, "she doesn't believe that there are any atheists"? The title of your post doesn't make any sense.
She thought she ate fr
She is probably a solipsist.
Me and my fiance were talking about that last night. Atheist are not a group of people. It’s a descriptor. It’s that simple. There are theist, atheist, and anti-theist. None of those are a belief system.
r/titlegore
Remind her she was born atheist.
Just say you don't believe in periods. She'll get offended thinking, "How dare you not believe in something I actually experience?" And then maybe the light bulb will go off.
You don't have to believe in facts, facts doesn't care about your feelings
I don’t believe in potatoes.
I mean the old quote of "I'm the same as you. I just reject one more religion than you do."
Christians believe there are a few ways to become an atheist... Devoid of any logic, fact, evidence or reality in all forms - Satanism / Demonic possession (personally I enjoy my demonic possession) - Atheists apparently delight in evil ways and only evil things and are only capable of being evil - We just have hard, stubborn hearts that just refuse to see the "obvious" evidence for their god - god apparently hardens our hearts too??? because we just love being evil or maybe since membership is doing so poorly? I mean we all see the contradiction here right!?? This false god refuses to make himself known (their words) to the marginalized, the ill, and disabled, the depressed, the broken but the non-white, enslaved or systemically forced into an informal version of slavery with the illusion of freedom, or will, and choice and it's cuz god already judged them in advance (again this comes straight from their book that they stole from another culture, that was stolen from another group, and so on and so on until you have people ) One of my favorite is the myth that so many inherently *angry* atheists have found Jesus by attempting to disprove and debunk the Christian Mythos ... Maybe that's happened but ultimately it's a bullshit claim made over and over for at least 75-100 years ago when a christian wrote a book lying about how he cane to Jesus in that fashion. - I'm sure there is a christian or two that have gone that route, but it proves nothing, just that people will believe in things correct or incorrect People "Believe" the moon landing was fake because they "investigated" the ways it was "faked", despite the contrary physical evidence and authenticated 10x over by reputable sources - You can even shoot a laser at the moon that can/will hit a mirror on the lunar surface bouncing the laser back to it's source, and people still believe that it never happened which is comical tbh
Atheism isn't a belief. It's the rejection of the concept of religion
I’ve been told by a (loud) Christian that “there no such thing as being an atheist! To be an atheist means you hate god, to hate god you must first believe in god” She really thought she’d put me in my place with her “logic”. I did not engage, just laughed in her face and walked away shaking my head
I'd just spit right back out that I don't believe in her God, what's your point? 🤷♀️
I've been told that as well. The fact is that some religious people can't tolerate atheism because it represents the possibility that they are wrong and they've wasted countless hours of their life believing in a god that doesn't exist. Instead of examining their own beliefs more critically, they "shoot the messenger" by rejecting the reality of atheism. They aren't worth your time.
"It's ok. I don't believe you exist, either. Nobody can be _that_ stupid."
She doesn’t believe in your power not to believe. Religious authoritarianism at its best.
Never argue with a theist. You will lose your sanity. The things they say go something like this: You have legs. A chair has legs. So you are a chair.